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Quick Dispatch: Watch Out Marnie!

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Published on Monday, 15 October 2012 00:00

Someone is growing quickly and ready to take the sweater I promised you.

Twist Style Fridays: Sapwood

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Published on Friday, 12 October 2012 00:00

Every Friday we feature one of the garments from the magazine in a post about styling. We suggest different ways to wear the garment in question using mock-ups from Polyvore. We encourage readers to tell us what they think about these outfits via our Facebook page or Twitter, and if folks want to make their own outfits, please tweet them at us with the hashtag #twiststyle. You can find all of the Style Friday posts here.

I love me a good henley. Most of the ones in my wardrobe are really old, really soft, and "borrowed" from cute boys I know (or used to know). Maybe that's why henleys always seem a little masculine to me (even if like Sapwood, they are girl-shaped, and in a soft color, and have lovely feminine detailing) or maybe somewhere deep in my subconscious I knew that the henley shirt began as a men's rowing uniform. I think there is something sweet, and cozy, and just a little bit insouciant about tossing a boyish shirt over something really girlie. If you wanted to bring out that old-school henley edge, make yours in navy, heathered grey, or an oatmeal tone. These first outfits, in this robin's egg shade, may border on twee- but there's nothing wrong with looking unapologetically adorable once in a while.

This is definitely a top that plays well with others; it's a great layering piece. In the looks above, the top kind of dresses down the dresses, takes them into definite daytime territory. But I also want to show you that even though a henley always looks a tiny bit "undone", you can still wear it and look put-together. Observe:

This is pretty dorky, but that whole set was inspired by the movie Pleasantville- the cool greys really make the colors pop right out at you. I think Sapwood would be right at home in a prim 50's inspired outfit, over your gym clothes in yoga class, with a sweet frock, or over your most worn-in jeans. How would you wear your Sapwood?

Designer Process: Sapwood

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Published on Wednesday, 10 October 2012 00:00

Today's post is brought to you by Amy Herzog, and it can also be found on her blog. Her contribution to our most recent issue, the lovely Sapwood henley, is the focus of this post, but Amy has also contributed a number of other lovely designs to our pages. Her garments are always feminine, timeless, easily adapted to different body types and shapes, and cleverly executed. This sweater has become a staple in Amy's own wardrobe- think about adding it to yours as well!

When the most recent issue of Twist Collective came out, I remembered how much I loved the relaxed design of my sweater in the collection, Sapwood. It may sound weird to remember how much I liked a design, but Sapwood was knit during the utterly crazy last days of the book, when everything was a total blur. I was switching back and forth between my day job to book editing to the photoshoot like a zombie–it’s no wonder my memory was a little on the hazy side!

Sapwood is like gourmet comfort food in sweater form. It’s easygoing and relaxed, with a bit of a tailored edge. It works well dressed up or down, and the sweater’s shaping makes it super flattering and easy to adjust for your body’s quirks. Looking at the pictures, I found myself wanting a Sapwood of my own!

Unfortunately, designers don’t actually get much time to knit sweaters for themselves… …and even less time to knit already-released sweaters for themselves. I’m full up on deadline knitting this fall, in preparation for my book release next spring. So what’s a girl to do?

Well, despite being utterly embarrassed about it, I hired a sample knitter (the wonderful Margaux and gave her modifications for knitting the pattern to my figure. I asked her to knit the pieces, and then did the blocking and finishing myself. The result? I have a brand new sweater that I totally adore.

I’ve worn it both with a nice skirt, for work, and dressed down with jeans and a tank top, like this. I’ve worn it hiking, I’ve worn it driving the kids around. It’s comfortable and easy-peasy and looks great. (The yarn is superwash, too, so it’s even easy care!)

Sapwood contains a buch of my favorite sweater elements to wear. The scoop neck, with a little henley placket, gives me just enough coverage and allows me to use some special vintage buttons:

The back of the sweater is plain, which makes for great reading/tv knitting, but the sleeves include a little lace panel. It’s a pretty touch without being too sweet. And the 3/4-length sleeves are perfect pushing-up length, which is how I always seem to wear my sweaters.

I made my usual modifications to this pattern–lengthened the body by 1”, and added an inch or so of vertical bust darts to the front.This accommodates my longer-than-average torso and gives me room in the bust without drowning my shoulders. They’re worked by working waist increases every other RS row until 5 additional increases have been worked–I decreased those extra sts into the neckline as described in my last post on Trimmings.

All in all, Sapwood has become something of a staple so far this fall. I look forward to many more years of wearing it!

Quick Dispatch: Fowl- friend or foe?

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Published on Monday, 08 October 2012 00:00

Robin takes action against a hostile mallard.

Twist Style Friday: Malpeque

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Published on Friday, 05 October 2012 00:00

Every Friday we feature one of the garments from the magazine in a post about styling. We suggest different ways to wear the garment in question using mock-ups from Polyvore. We encourage readers to tell us what they think about these outfits via our Facebook page or Twitter, and if folks want to make their own outfits, please tweet them at us with the hashtag #twiststyle. You can find all of the Style Friday posts here.

I don't know about you, but I like oysters. I didn't always- they used to kind of gross me out, actually. I recently tried them again, for the first time since I was a little kid- and actually, they were kind of awesome. I was surprised at how much I liked them. It's fitting then, that this week's Style Friday feature is Malpeque, a sweater I didn't much like the first time I glanced at it. I tend to wear my cardigans pretty short- not too far past my natural waist, over dresses with full skirts. So taking on a long, flowy cardigan for a styling post felt kind of daunting. Let's revisit the original styling from the magazine shoot.

There are certainly lots of variations on this particular outfit- a basic top, solid pants, cozy cardigan. The lattice lace is the star of the show, and you look put-together, but also like you aren't trying too hard. You could also vary the cut of the pant- wider leg slacks for work or a fancier setting, with something a little sparkly on top. I wanted to see if I could make this sweater look a little bit tough; here's what I came up with:

Maybe I own those black and white patterned leggings. Maybe they facilitated me breaking my own "leggings are not actually pants" rule because they are so awesome that I don't want to cover any more of their splendor than I absolutely have to. Maybe.

This set was my medium stage with Malpeque- like when I tried oysters with just a bit of lemon. Okay, I thought. I could eat these/wear this. But then... Then I tried them with this amazing spicy vodka sauce; then I tried them with horseradish; then, it was love. Watch me go similarly overboard in a sartorial fashion-

I literally could not make enough outfits that looked kind of like this. As long as the hem of the dress is within a few inches (above or below) the hem of the sweater, and the waist is defined somehow, all of these look really great! Toss on a cute bag and a neutral, vintage-inspired shoe; you are totally ready for one of those fall days where the sun is shining but the breeze is a bit icy.

Go forth, my friends, and try something new! Food or fashion- you never know what you might love. Of course, as always, I want to know- how would you wear your Malpeque? Also, someone please make one in red, okay?